Integrity? Does It Matter?

I realize that I am getting older and times have changed... but somethings, in my opinion, ought never to change. Integrity is one of those issues. I grew up in a time when a hand shake sealed a deal between two men, and when a man said he would do something, you went on about your business expecting that thing to be done. That's just the way it was. A person's word meant something. Sadly, that just does not seem to be the case any more. If a person does not uphold their end of an agreement, it is as if you have no right to be disappointed or upset with them. I refuse to live that way. If I tell you I am going to do something, I will do it, even if it costs me more than I had anticipated or takes me away from something else; because I gave my word that I would do something. I know that people often get upset with me because they will try to nail me down to a commitment, and when I tell them that I cannot make that commitment, but that I will try, that upsets them.  But when I commit to something... well, I am committed. Right? No matter what else comes up, I have committed myself to be somewhere or to do something. So if I am uncertain, I am careful to tell people that I cannot make a solid commitment to them, but if they would like to hold that time open, I will try. To me, there is nothing worse than someone who commits to something and then routinely cancels or no-shows, or fails to follow through. Their word means nothing to me from that point on, and I have no confidence in them.


I've gone through an issue with my son in recent months and I drew a line in the sand and told him that if a certain thing was not done by a certain date, there would be a price to pay. (Outlined for him, not needed here) He has pushed the envelope to the very edge, having 2 days left and the promise made has not been fulfilled. As much as it will pain me, I will prove to my son what integrity is and uphold the agreed upon terms. That's what integrity is all about. It will be a painful lesson for him and even more painful to me, but I will stand on my word. He needs to know that there is such a thing as integrity in a world that does not seem to think it is important. Especially to those of us who call ourselves Christians, we need to understand that our lack of integrity is a cancer on the Body of Christ.  When we say we are going to do something, then we must do it, because we soil the Name of Jesus along side our own. We live in a day when people are looking for something real. We need to show it to them. 


I ran across a quote a little earlier today that I will close this with: "If you have integrity, nothing else matters.  If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters."  ~Alan Simpson

Even In Sickness

Most of you that are close to me know I've really been sick this week, and still am.  If you know me at all, the fact that I have not even been out of my house since Monday night ought to say a lot. I don't like being cooped up and usually, even in sickness, bad weather or what ever may be happening, I get out, if only for a drive. This week, I've just been down for the count with no energy, coughing and sneezing until my chest, back and head feel like they are going to explode, and I have not even tried to get up and going.  It's rough.
Still, there is a bright side. 


I have often shared with my church that it seems like when I am down for the count and got nothing left to give, that is when the Lord speaks to me the clearest. I'll be honest, this week has been a tremendous battle between my flesh and my spirit man. And Satan has been right there accusing and trying his best to torment my mind and spirit. I've not slept well, just a little here and a little there, but can't seem to put  more than a couple of hours together at one time. So, I'm not just sick... I am worn out. And in that weakness, here comes the enemy of my soul, telling me that this is it, that pneumonia is coming back on me and this time he is going to take me out. Truthfully, I pretty well ignored him, but he has pounded and pounded at me, and I found myself thinking, "what if I died?" What about my wife and kids? What about my church? You know how that goes.  I can't say that it "got me down" but it was there.  All week I have reminded myself (and others) that even in sickness, I am blessed. Still, here he would come... taunting me. Telling me I was not going to see my baby graduate or walk the wedding aisle. I'd shrug him off and tell him I was not buying it... but truthfully... it was in the back of my mind.
Today, he was really pounding at my thoughts, when suddenly I heard my self saying in a sermon not long ago, "Satan is the father of all lies and the truth is not in him! What ever he says, take the opposite of it and embrace it, claim it, for that is what he is trying to keep you from!" I've been reminding him ever since that I'm healed, I'm strong, I'm whole, I will live and not die! I am blessed!


Just a few days ago at church I mentioned the words to a song that a friend in Christ, Randy Newton had penned in a song, saying that no matter where we look, we can see the promise of His presence. "There you are." Even in sickness, he has promised us his presence. He said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So, with that promise, we know that even if we do not "feel" him, he is there. Always!
Randy wrote: "There you are in the darkness, in times I cannot see. In moments of sunlight, when things are clear to me. There you are to guide me, you love to light my way. Forever you will love me, forever you will stay. There you are..."


He is always there. Everywhere you turn. He is always there. 
I share my heart today to tell you... someone... that Jesus Christ is always there. If you look for Him, you will find Him!

The Rise of a Dictator

Folks, I don't care if you are Republican, Democrat, Independent or completely non-political, we all need to open our eyes as to what is happening. Not is Egypt or Lybia or Iran... I'm talking about right here at home. Today, February 23, 2011 we are witnessing a maneuver that is blatantly I violation of Constitutional authority. Today President Obama has decreed that his administration will not defend the law of the land when it comes to the Defense of Marriage Act which was passed in 1996. Obama has decreed that the law is unconstitutional. Folks, the United States President DOES NOT have that power. I do not care if you agree with this law or not, it is the law, and the President swears an oath to uphold the Constitution (the law of the land.) He does not get to change it at his discretion. If America allows this, we have opened a can of worms that cannot be re-shut. This is a CRUCIAL moment in our history.
Again, no matter which side of the law you come down on, we as Americans MUST demand that the President defend the Constitution or we must begin the process of Impeachment and removing him from office. If we allow this, which law can he simply decide he does not like tomorrow? I cannot scream it loudly enough, America had better wake up, and do so fast! I would not be surprised to see rioting in the streets of America over this, just as we are seeing in other countries. If need be, then that's what we need to do, because this man is making our U.S. Constitution out to be nothing more than Presidential toilet paper,

Don't Let Anyone Take Your Pancakes!

I was reading several comments on Facebook yesterday, and I noticed that people by and large are extremely negative.  In situation after situation, rather than seeing the positive in a situation, they saw the negative. When someone offered that they had car trouble, others began to tell them the worst case scenario rather than suggest that it could be minor. I have one young lady (who I really do love dearly) who is one of the most negative people I've ever met.  The vast majority of her posts are about how awful her day has been, or that it was going to be a terrible day, or how much life sucks. I am reminded of the words of motivational speaker/writer Larry Winget when he said, "If life sucks it is probably because you suck!"  What Winget was saying is that it's your outlook on life, your attitude that sucks.
He wrote a book that I have read and re-read several times now, titled, "Shut up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life!"   That sums it up nicely, as far as I am concerned. You know, we all have some bad days... but if you are having a bad life; do something about it! Stop looking to everyone else to make your life fulfilling. Believe it or not, life really is NOT about who has the most marbles or toys at the end of the game. It's about enjoying the process... making life count each and every day.  


Sunday morning as we were singing the first song of our worship service, I looked out and maybe 5 -7 people were singing and I swear, most of the people looked like someone had just told them they'd lost their job. I said to the people, "Who took your pancakes this morning?"  They laughed and it got better, but people, we have got to understand that we get one shot at this life. Let's do it right!  We get bad news. We have set backs. We all have problems and sickness does come our way. But we are alive! That's the good news! And if you know Jesus Christ as your savior, no matter how bad it may get, we KNOW it is going to get better!


Right now as I am typing this, tears are running down my face... not because I am sad, but because I am so sick I cannot stop my eyes or nose from running. I have coughed until my chest and my head hurt so bad each time that I do cough that I feel like I am gonna die. To make it even worse, I woke up just after 2:00 AM and started vomiting and had diarrhea. I spent the next 2 hours camped near the bathroom as it just would not stop. In short... I feel like, and I look like road kill today. But in the midst of my sickness, I keep telling myself, "this is just a little setback" and reminding myself that in a few days I will be well and all the things I am not able to do right now, I will get them caught up. I refuse to give in to whining. I refuse to become a "negative Nelly."  Life is good... and I am blessed abundantly!  I could start listing the problems we have right now in our house... the bills, the leaking faucets, the roof... and on and on and give it to self pity. But I tell myself, "I am blessed to have a house that I GET to do these repairs on. I am blessed to have a van that I GET to put new tires on. I am blessed to have two wonderful kids that I will GET to help put through college. Life is not negative... I am blessed!


Let me wrap this up today with a short story that really happened. Fred Smith submitted a paper to his professor in college with an idea to guarantee overnight delivery of documents and packages.  His Yale professor wrote on that paper:  "The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C', the idea must be feasible." 
A lot of people would have taken the advice of a Yale Management Professor that the idea was not feasible and trashed the idea. But Fred Smith was undaunted and went on to found Federal Express Corporation.


Stop listening to the voices that surround you that tell you how bad it is, that you can't do it, that it's not worth it...  JUST STOP IT!  Tune them out.
Life is a gift... what are you going to do with it? 
I choose joy. I choose the high road. I've done the negative thing enough years of my life and I am choosing to enjoy this life and do my best to help others enjoy it too. 
Yeah... I'm really sick today... but just wait until I feel better. I'll have a lot of down time to make up for, so stay out of my way!

Yeah, That Might Explain It

I'm really fighting a head and chest cold right now, and do not feel good at all. Yesterday, by daughter had auditions at SIU-Edwardsville for the choir and band, and she really needed me to take her. As I was getting dressed, I told my wife that if it were not for my baby girl needing me then I would be going back to bed for the day. I just felt awful.  So, I get ready and I'm drinking coffee and popped some vitamins and other herbal stuff to try to give myself a shot in the arm. I decided I was going to need to take some Dayquil  pills to make it. As I was getting them out, Ashley called me needing me to help her with something. (I really don't remember what it was, doesn't matter.)  After I was finished with her, I came back to the dining room table where I had laid the medicine and took two pills and stuck two more in my pocket for later in the day, since I knew we would be gone all day.


Later, as we were driving down, I was really feeling rough, and getting more and more tired. I finally stopped so that I could get out and walk a bit and get a soda to try to pick me up a bit. I did feel a bit better, as far as the being tired went, but I just kept feeling worse. After Ashley's auditions, we took one of the young men from our church who attends SIU-E out for a quick bite to eat and then was going to head home. After eating, I took the other two pills, and I did feel a bit of relief, but I just kept getting more and more tired. Finally, I was getting so fuzzy in my thinking that I told my wife she was going to have to drive. Now if you, know me, THAT's bad. I just don't let anyone else drive, unless there is no other alternative. 
Anyway...
A little while later, Libby was trying to wake me up to ask me something, and I did get up, but I was just out of it. She said she tried several times to wake me up and I was just non-responsive.  I did drive the rest of the way, but I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. We stopped and picked some things up for the church at Sam's in Peoria and then ate dinner. I was more awake by then and drove on home. When I got home, I checked my email and Facebook, and being that I was really wiped out, decided I was going to go to be early (by my terms, anyway), and went in to take some Nyquil.  When I opened the box, it hit me what I had done. When I came back after helping Ashley in the moring, I picked up the wrong box and I had taken 2 Nyquil in the morning and 2 more in the afternoon... 
Might explain why I as so out of it and tired!  
Thank you Jesus for watching over me in the time of my brain farts!

Who Do They Think They Are?

I'm really having a hard time keeping my attitude in check tonight, but I'm going to try.  You see see, I'm both happy tonight, and at the same time, I am as mad as this preacher can get before I blow my top.  I am happy because I was able to show some people the love, mercy and grace of Christ, by performing a wedding ceremony for a couple that I became acquainted with through a mutual friend.  This couple had lived together for going on two decades and have a family of 10 children. After all these years, they felt compelled to "make things right" in the eyes of the Lord.  And here is where I find the anger welling up in me.  They had approached several churches and pastors and each one had refused to marry them because they lived together and had children outside of marriage. They were told that to marry them would condone their living in sin all these years.
Excuse me? 
I mean, how dare anyone say something like that!
First of all, their goal was to put things right with God.
Secondly, would you tell any other person who was a sinner (hello?... all of us!) who came seeking God and to get their lives in order, "sorry, you are just stuck in your sin."  That is, in essence what was done to these people.  And the sad thing is... over the years I have performed marriage services for literally dozens of people over the years with similar stories.
I am appalled at this behavior. It is nothing short of spiritual abuse.
Especially for someone who was reared in the Catholic faith, they basically are telling people that there is no atonement for their sin.  Minister's who do this cheapen the Gospel and have ZERO comprehension of what the grace and mercy of Christ is all about!
First, I am thrilled that I was able to be there to minister to this family and tell them personally what the grace of Christ is all about and to tell them that if Jesus was physically here on this earth, he would commend them for taking this step. I commend them as well.
But to you ministers who think you have the right to decide who receives grace and who does not... Who do you think you are?!  I wonder, what Christ are you preaching? Do you understand the blood?  Have you ever read the words of Jesus, and if so, do you recall the parable of the vineyard owner who paid those hired in the 11th hour the same as those who had worked all day?  Like I said, I'm fighting with my attitude, but people like this make me absolutely sick, and I'll bet you make God sick too!
I pray you find the grace you need when you stand before the Lord!

Not On Our Watch!

I know your time is valuable... but I ask you to INVEST 29 minutes of your time in watching this video.

"I Want to Marry a Virgin"

Tom Sterbens is colleague of mine, whom I would like to call my friend, however I have had the pleasure of meeting only briefly a couple of times. We've communicated many times through messaging boards and email over the years, still I cannot say that I "know" Tom; but I have to say, I admire and respect him greatly.  I mention Tom today to share with you his blog, especially what he has written today. Some might view it as controversial (what else is new? Right Tom?) but I have to tell you, that I've sat here and wept after reading his thoughts and heart today, and it is causing me to give some really deep thought to my own attitude and times I have been judgmental. Thanks Tom for sharing your heart... and for allowing me to link this back to you for others to read for themselves.  Friends... do yourself a huge favor, and follow this link and read it.  "I Want to Marry A Virgin"

Man's Best Friend

 
My dogs sleep about 15-20 hours a day.

They have their food prepared for them.

They can eat whenever they want, 

24 hours a day~7 days a week~365 days a year.

Their meals are provided at no cost to them.

They visit the doctor once a year for their checkup
and any other time during the year if any medical needs arise.
For this they pay nothing and nothing is required of either of them.

They live in a nice neighborhood in a house that is much larger
than they need, but they are not required to do any upkeep.
If they make a mess, someone else cleans it up.

They have their choice of luxurious places to sleep.
They receive these accommodations absolutely free of charge.

They live like  kings, and have absolutely no expenses whatsoever.
All of their costs are picked up by others who
go out, work and earn a living every day.

I was just thinking about all this, and suddenly it hit me like a
brick in the head. . . . . . ..

Holy Crap, my dogs are Democrats!!!!!!!!!!!!

How's That Hope and Change Working Out For Ya?

Two years ago, Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the United States .  Are you better off today than you were two years ago? Numbers don't lie, and here are the data on the impact he has had on the lives of Americans:   January 2009 TODAY % chg Source Avg. retail price/gallon gas in U.S. $1.83 $3.104 69.6% 1 Crude oil, European Brent (barrel) $43.48 $99.02 127.7% 2 Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel) $38.74 $91.38 135.9% 2 Gold: London (per troy oz.) $853.25 $1,369.50 60.5% 2 Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL $3.56 $6.33 78.1% 2 Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL $9.66 $13.75 42.3% 2 Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. fob $13.37 $35.39 164.7% 2 Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall 7.6% 9.4% 23.7% 3 Unemployment rate, blacks 12.6% 15.8% 25.4% 3 Number of unemployed 11,616,000 14,485,000 24.7% 3 Number of fed. employees, ex. military (curr = 12/10 prelim) 2,779,000 2,840,000 2.2% 3 Real median household income (2008 v 2009) $50,112 $49,777 -0.7% 4 Number of food stamp recipients (curr = 10/10) 31,983,716 43,200,878 35.1% 5 Number of unemployment benefit recipients (curr = 12/10) 7,526,598 9,193,838 22.2% 6 Number of long-term unemployed 2,600,000 6,400,000 146.2% 3 Poverty rate, individuals (2008 v 2009) 13.2% 14.3% 8.3% 4 People in poverty in U.S. (2008 v 2009) 39,800,000 43,600,000 9.5% 4 U.S. rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings 5 9 n/a 10 Present Situation Index (curr = 12/10) 29.9 23.5 -21.4% 11 Failed banks (curr = 2010 + 2011 to date) 140 164 17.1% 12 U.S. dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate 89.76 82.03 -8.6% 2 U.S. money supply, M1, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim) 1,575.1 1,865.7 18.4% 13 U.S. money supply, M2, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim) 8,310.9 8,852.3 6.5% 13 National debt, in trillions $10.627 $14.052 32.2% 14 Just take this last item:  In the last two years we have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our entire nation's history.  Over 27 times as fast!  Metaphorically, speaking, if you are driving in the right lane doing 65 MPH and a car rockets past you in the left lane 27 times faster . . . it would be doing 1,755 MPH!  This is a disaster! Sources: (1) U.S. Energy Information Administration; (2) Wall Street Journal; (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics; (4) Census Bureau; (5) USDA; (6) U.S. Dept. of Labor; (7) FHFA; (8) Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller; (9) RealtyTrac; (10) Heritage Foundation and WSJ; (11) The Conference Board; (12) FDIC; (13) Federal Reserve; (14) U.S. Treasury